Carlsbad may ban retail pet sales

Aim is curbing 'puppy mills' and 'kitten factories,' but city would exempt existing store at Westfield mall

CARLSBAD  The Carlsbad City Council is set to decide Tuesday night whether to ban pet stores in the city from selling dogs and cats based on concerns they typically get their animals from places that activists call “puppy mills” and “kitten factories.”

The proposal comes three months after the city of San Diego passed a similar ban and two weeks after the Oceanside City Council voted 3-2 against such a ban.

Unlike those bans, Carlsbad’s measure would exempt the city’s one existing store — California Pets in Westfield Carlsbad mall. More than two dozen other cities across the nation have passed bans, and none of them have exempted existing stores.

Animal rights groups, including the Humane Society of the United States, say banning the sale of dogs and cats at pet stores helps reduce the number of animals treated inhumanely and encourages the adoption of more pets from shelters and rescue groups.

They say puppy mills and kitten factories mass produce large volumes of animals that they breed irresponsibly. The groups say the animals live in overcrowded cages, don’t get proper veterinary care and lack the proper socialization to be good pets.

Pet store owners and some mass breeders say the criticisms are overblown. They say the ban would limit consumer choice, threaten the long-term viability of dog breeding and encourage the “underground” sale of dogs.

Joe Shamore, who owns California Pets locations in Carlsbad and Escondido, said unregulated breeders and people selling pets online are the more pressing problems facing his industry.

But a local group called And Justice for All Animals encourages people to boycott pet stores that sell dogs and cats, including one in Oceanside, two in Escondido, one in National City, one in Santee and the Carlsbad store.